Wednesday, October 15, 2025

It’s Hodgepodge day with Joyce! Are you a fan of candy corn? I like the Brach’s brand the best and yes, I am a fan! I only buy a couple of bags a year. It’s best mixed with lightly salted peanuts. Yum!

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music? 

I love live music in smaller venues or outdoors. I had a great time at the music festival in my hometown in September. I have also gotten to hear my friend Mike at a cute little venue and a Nashville Australian singer at a small tavern recently.

I want live music to start earlier! Who said “music shall start at Amy’s bedtime”?

2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here’s what’s on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

  • Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
  • Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
  • Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
  • Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
  • Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
  • Krylon-matte coffee bean
  • Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
  • Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
  • Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere) 

I love hearing the names of paint colors, nail polish colors, etc. In fact, I would like to have the job of “color namer” but my two Heathers were talking about shades of white paint the other day and I was so bored.

I believe the announcement of colors of the year to be marketing and a ploy to get people to buy new paint.

I have PTSD from the crazy wallpaper that was EVERYWHERE when we moved into our house. There were stripes, florals, black wallpaper, red wallpaper, pandas with bouncing balls…I stripped it all myself and it was a nightmare. Now I am such a neutral paint color person (my kitchen and dining room are yellow, but soon to be changed) and I feel like some of these colors listed are too much for me.

My bedroom and bath are Egret White and my mudroom and hall bath are Agreeable Gray. Blonde Heather told me her mom’s new house was done in these colors and I said “done”. We have lots of paint left for our remaining rooms we need to do.

Now, with that said…the swatch really doesn’t look the same as it does on the wall.

Exhibit A:

I held these up in my Agreeable Gray mudroom. It’s not nearly that dark.

My mudroom (it’s still waiting on cabinetry):

I know that people are saying that the gray trend is over but it just looks neutral to me with the sunlight coming in and whatever decor you put up.

Hall bath:

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers? Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style? Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list? 

I had not heard of some of these. No, I did not! I am pretty loyal to Sherwin Williams but I’m not sure why.

I guess I would have to say Universal Khaki. That is basically what my basement is. I would like to go lighter down there, though, and maybe I will see if we can re-paint the basement, too.

Yes! We need to paint kitchen, dining room, living room, and Mason’s room and Jack’s old room. We are hiring painters. Tom and I both hate painting and think it’s worth hiring it out.

No – I really don’t like any of those colors. I already have all the Egret White and Agreeable Gray I need.

This topic is boring me. I’m sorry. Tom is the design person in our relationship. He has an idea and asks if I like it and I always do. He has great taste. In his line of work he sees lots of design elements.

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most? 

I guess the food names are my favorite like “hazelnut crunch” and “matte coffee bean”.

3. What’s something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that’s about as exciting as ‘watching paint dry’? 

Nothing anymore. It used to be school professional development!

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day…did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What’s your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!! 

I made and had some of the candy corn/peanut mix!

5. Perhaps today is the day I will __________________________________. 

I need to shop for my brunette Heather’s birthday present! I love gift shopping. Sometimes I accidentally find something for myself. Oopsie.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Remember how on Sunday we went to an event where they catapulted pumpkins into the river?

Eddie Otis got to do a swim the next day and look what he found down river…

Screenshot

He got a piece of pumpkin! Good boy!

Happy Hump Day!

Amy

28 thoughts on “Hodgepodge”

  1. Our house is a colorful mix of colors but I don’t think I’d use any of the color of the year ones… mostly I think I’m just sick of painting. Finally. I think nearly every room in this house has been painted and repainted a few times. I have used Valspar, Behr, Sherwin-Williams, Gliddon, & Krylon (though I did think Krylon was only spray paint– at least that’s all I’ve used them for). I typically bring the swatches home and tape them up in a few different places to see how the light hits and changes them. I love paint colors and often repaint just because I found a swatch I fell in love with then I have a ball picking out new curtains and throw pillows or bedding or towels or what have you to go with it.

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    1. I thought it was just a spray paint, too! I loved designing my two new bathrooms but it’s not something I want to do every day! It’s just not fun for me. Lol.

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  2. Maybe some of those wallpaper designs would be ¨in¨ now with wallpaper being a design thing now. Likely not- I feel like wallpaper designs are different now than they were of yore. I agree that the paint does not look like what the color sample says. I guess lighting makes a big difference? We have hired people to paint over the years and we´ve done it ourselves in smaller spaces. I don´t like to do it either but sometimes I do if just not to deal with getting a quote, syncing up schedules, etc. It´s something I can do which does not apply to about 99% of home improvement projects :). Have a great day!

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    1. I don’t think so. They were BAD. I do love seeing a small bath with something like birds or something like that but I’m not ready for wallpaper. We do almost all of our home stuff but Tom has lots of good painting contacts with his line of work so it’s hired out.

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  3. I love to shop for birthday gifts too BUT I get stressed out that it “won’t be the right thing” so I am doing a Lazy Genius “decide once” this year and go to Trader Joe’s for anyone’s birthday that is not family. It’s mostly been live plants, but a few times I’ve picked up some novelty snacks also. Plus they have great b’day cards that are cheap!

    Funny about EO finding the pumpkin – my dog would do something like that!

    Happy Wednesday!

    Oh, and I LOVED your post yesterday. . .sometimes I was laughing so hard I couldn’t go to the next one until my eyes cleared!!! Good for you, saving all of those 🙂

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    1. In that case I pick something from a store I know they like and get a gift receipt. I found her gift yesterday! I found a dress that looked like her, guessed on the size, and got a gift receipt and they wrapped it really nicely.
      Thank you so much! I’m glad you had a good laugh in this crazy stressful climate we are living in!

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  4. I remember my friend used agreeable grey in her townhouse and it looked so good! I wanted it all over my house but my sister said it wouldn’t work – I have no idea why. I hate picking paint colors, it’s so hard for me to tell what it will look like on my wall. The whole process overwhelms me!

    Candy corn -I can take it or leave it but if I take it then IT must be eaten with something salty!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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  5. I love shopping for gifts too. I’m thinking about Christmas now, although two of my grands have birthdays this month. They’re so much fun to buy for! The little girls especially!! The clothes are so hard to resist. Paint definitely looks different on the wall than on the swatch, depending on lighting and such. Hubs used to do our painting a long long time ago, but no more. It’s back breaking, plus we have a high ceiling in the main room that I would not want to see him attempt. I like candy corn with peanuts too and I have both here so need to mix them. I don’t really like candy corn otherwise. Have a great day!

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    1. I have started to think Christmas gifts, too. We don’t give a lot of gifts anymore but I am planning some funny things/sentimental things for my side of the family. I am editing my mom’s Storyworth to try to have those books ready.
      Paying for painting is well worth it!
      Candy corn is so sweet alone!

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  6. Cracking up at the pic of EO- so cute! Love Love your bathroom and I think the bright/neutral colors you did are perfect!

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  7. My kitchen is agreeable gray and it does look like a neutral and less gray than Repose Gray. I like candy corn plain, but I prefer it with the autumn mix of pumpkins. Yes, we need live music to start earlier for the over 50 crowd!

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  8. I love candy corn in small doses. 😋 The only 2 paint brands that I like are Sherwin Williams and Behr. I like the paint color we picked when we remodeled years ago. I am thinking it is Agreeable Grey. In some light it looks grey and in other light it looks like a light beige.

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    1. Same. Just a few pieces after dinner usually. Yes – the Agreeable Gray is super versatile like that. People would probably say I need to use warm colors in my house because of our cherry Amish furniture but the Agreeable Gray is a chameleon and I think it will work. But, I also might do the Egret White in the living room.

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  10. My bathroom is wallpaper and for years I have been wanting to rip it down, but life happened and I never got around to doing this. Now, I heard wallpaper was coming back in style. I love candy corn and will try this with peanuts.

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  11. I have never eaten candy corn, it’s not a thing here in the UK which I am very annoyed about!
    I agree, all the live music events seem to start when I want to be settled in my pyjamas. lol They do need to start earlier.
    I hope you found a present for Heather and for yourself too. hehehe
    I love that Eddie Otis got a pumpkin!

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    1. I wonder if it’s on UK Amazon? It’s very, very sweet but I would love you to get to just try it! Right? Who declared that music is for night?
      I only found a present for Heather – very proud of myself.
      It was so cool that he got a piece of pumpkin!

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  12. I’m totally not ready for red and brown paint to come back. Screams late 90s to me maybe?

    We always do grays and blues lol.

    This whole rental is white though and I’m good with that 🙂

    I have not bought candy corn yet and I’m thinking tomorrow is the day.

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    1. It made a room look just so dark. I have a friend that has a house still stuck in the 90s and it has those colors. It’s so dark.
      You can’t go wrong with white and it just makes things look so light and airy.
      I bought it early this year – two bags already and no more!

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  13. I love that EO got a pumpkin! I like neutral paint colors too. It is crazy how different light can affect a paint color. When we rebuilt after the hurricane, I really wanted Accessible Beige that was very popular at the time. When I put some on the wall, it had a lavendar tone in the light of our living room. Weird! I also love candy corn.

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    1. Isn’t that funny? Yes – the lights, how many windows – it’s like magic! I have seen some grays that have a lavender tone, too. I think I like candy corn because it’s such a rare treat!

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